I was told Rev would be announcing their really new kite at KTAI, but apparently it isn't ready yet.
They did announce a new John Baressi Rev, called the B-Series.

There will be a full review in John's magazine on Feb 1st, but basically it looks like a std rev (1.5 sized?) that will have weights to make for easier flic-flacs and axels. This is something the dual-line guys have been fooling with for a few years.
It will also come with a 2 wrap (SUL) and 3 wrap (EXP) frame, and handles with knots (finally!).

MSRP is $299 which seems like a good deal considering the handles and extra frame.

There will be a vented version in the future. The std version, pictured below, has black panels that look like vents.

With the SLE spar losing favor, this sounds like a great first Rev. With the two frames you've got a big wind range, and the handles will already have knots--another plus.

I normally don't think rev trick flying looks all that good, it will be interesting to see if the weights change my opinion. With any luck I'll get to try one next month.

Talk to Dave if you want to get on the waiting list for one of these, I expect they will sell well.

Mike wrote::revspin: So does this mean you have a Rev on order? It would be really fun to fly together at our next fly.

i think that i'll probably go for the Tesseract. i've been checking Robert's web site now and then... but there are no new updates on it yet. (It looks like there was a delay in the release of the Mohawks --- i had ordered one of these from Robert --- due to a problem with the the new weight-friendly tail, but i'd rather get mine late and perfected, instead of early with problems.)

Tom P.

Illinois_______ (excerpt from E. E. Cummings: "How many winds make wonderful... and is luck The skeleton of life")

Tom, I also know someone with an airbow that he never flies and might be willing to sell.
If you're interested send me a PM with an offer for a used airbow with a small hole in it and I'll pass the info along.
(To send a PM, click on the button just below this post )

John designed the sail paneling with stretch in mind, so that as the sail loosens, those vertical stripes actually create channels running from the leading edge to the trailing edge, which will increase precision for those who have enough skill to notice the difference.

Is it so windy that the standard leading edge is flexing a little too much for your comfort? You can simply slide the entire UL leading edge in beside the standard one, nearly doubling the strength. As a side note with respect to this, iQuad has successfully flown in 30+ mph using this combination method of leading edges, ie, a vented kite, and TWO leading edges will provide enough strength to keep your kite in one piece.

Weights are really only going to benefit you with respect to slackline-ish moves on a Rev, ie, Axels or Flic-Flacs. Additionally, you can experiment with placing the weights in any of the six different end capped rods for different effects.

This next part seems strange to me. One of the complaints about the SLE is the extra momentum.

While the weighting certainly does make a slight difference to the overall performance of this kite, its not one of those night and day kind of differences, its a subtle effect. Of course its noticeable with any slack line type tricks but, you will also find it adds a little bit of help with precision moves as well, just by providing a little extra weight to give momentum.

Maybe having the weight on the bottom with this kite vs the weight on the LE with the SLE makes a difference.
From the review, it seems the weight is a subtle change though.

i was quite impressed by Lam's indoor flying at Grand Haven with the quad that he had. Are there Revolutions available for 0 to little wind (that would be good to fly outdoors when there is little wind for my dual line flying)? Lam's circling with his indoor quad looked quite poetic!

Tom P.

Illinois_______ (excerpt from E. E. Cummings: "How many winds make wonderful... and is luck The skeleton of life")

Lam was flying a standard Rev, because he's that good.
Rev does make an indoor kite that is easier to fly indoors. I've flown one both indoors and outdoors in almost zero wind. It flies quite well and is surprisingly easy to fly indoors.